Done with the Desert Heat
We’ve covered a lot of ground since we last wrote from Zion N.P. in Utah. Our travels have led us back to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon which was pretty much as spectacular as the South Rim, except facing the other direction. It’s not as developed as the South Rim, but the campground was full nevertheless… so, we camped at the nearest campground outside the park which was 40 miles away! The positive side of that camp spot – where Roosevelt himself had supposedly camped – was we got the opportunity to get a crapppy photo of the ever elusive Kaibab squirrel so we were happy of that.
We tried to arrange to hike into the canyon, but somehow the gentleman at the backcountry office was unable to be sure of accomodation availibility of the canyon campgrounds?! We opted for a day hike 2 miles down the Bright Angel Trail. We made the hike feeling rather proudly of our efforts until we met some 50+ year olds going rim to rim (23.5 miles in one day) which brought in our puffed up chests a couple sizes. Then to make things worse, we met a younger, very fit guy, with nothing but a Camelback and a granola bar going rim to rim to rim, then adding 3 miles on to his trek just to give him a smooth 50 miles for the day. That pretty much deflated us the rest of the way!
We spent a couple days in relative comfort in Las Vegas. Eating like pigs and sleeping in comfort one night in the oldest hotel in Vegas – The Golden Gate – where Kristin decided to act like many other Vegas partiers and puked 4 times in garbage cans along the busy strip. The only difference is she never drank a drop of alchol. We both ate pretty much the same stuff at the buffet and my ironclad stomach came out unscathed so we’re not sure what the trouble was. Neither one of us particularly enjoyed how busy things were, so we ate another big buffet brunch the next day – Kristin’s stomach fine again -at the Golden Nugget for $7.99 and with stuffed bellies headed to Death Valley.
Death Valley was hot! 108F in the midday. We walked some sand dunes, spied on some cool looking zebra tailed lizards, checked out the rare pupfish – the only fish to survive the transition of fresh water to very salty water – and naturally took a couple of photos of the lowest spot in the western hemisphere (-282 feet below sea level) which ironically enough occurs only 100 miles from the highest spot – Mt. Whitney – in the contiguous United States. We spent a peaceful night in the hills of Death Valley – for free, and alone – then headed west via Rhyolite to the northeast? A quirky, awful little ghost town which we wish we never bothered going out of our way to see. We took a quick drive up to see the Bristlecone Pines, allegedly the oldest living things on earth, the oldest being 4600 years old! Unfortunately there were signs posted all over re: not getting too close to the chippies or squirrels (or any rodents for that matter) due to Bubonic Plague….so we left!
We took a quick boo at Mt. Whitney (14491feet) then took a slight diversion to take a look at another special tree – the Giant Sequoia – allegedly the largest living things on earth. I’m not sure if they are the largest, but they are truly a spectacle to behold! As an added bonus we got photos of the Snow Flower and the White Headed Woodpecker!
On our way to the coast we realized accomodations were going to be slim (due to Memorial Day weekend) so we found the best camping we could and holed up for a few days – felt more like stranded – in the hills just east of Bakersfield California. A very noisy, busy spot which could have been worse we’re sure.
On Sunday May 28th we finally made it to the Pacific Ocean, which officially concluded our desert portion of our adventure.
To sum up the desert in a sentence: hot days, freezing nights, clear skies, no water, cool cacti, more wildlife than one would expect, and lots of lizards and sparse population of humans! No wonder the U.S. Government gave most of this land to the Airforce and the Indians!
Tags: Travel
Hey there,
It was funny to read your newest post. As you wrote that Kris was puking, I thought way to go, glad you had some beers and then to read you hadn’t drank a thing! Yikes! Seriously, I love to read what you’ve done, and where you’re headed. It’s entertainment for me!
Tina
Hey you two Nomads,
Sounds like things are rolling along nicely. We’re looking forward to seeing the pics when you get home. Hey Jimbo…….do ya think those Kaibab squirrels are good eatin??
I had to ask 🙂
Brian & Jen
Hi Jim and Kris
It’s facinating keeping up on your travels (Except when England’s playing!) Sounds like you are having a great time.
You are living everyone’s dream, except you had the guts to do it.
Keep up the post and stay safe
Love
Mike, Donna, Valerie and Colin
Hi Kristin & Jim,
We’ve been reading along your updates and are glad to hear how much you are enjoying yourselves (minus the puking in Vegas)! Just wanted to let you know we are thinking of you guys!
Amanda, Tom & Emma